December 27, 2011

King's Ransom by Jude Watson (Good)

Hello, again.  I just finished A King's Ransom and wanted to post about it.  Before I get into this particular book, I just want to give you my overall thoughts of this series, complete with pros and cons
  1. The series is really good.  (pro)
  2. There are, like, six or so authors, so it doesn't really flow very well. (con)
  3. There are way too many books, all of them being only about 200 pages.  But, I still read them because I'm caught up in the story. (con)
  4. Almost all of the books end in cliffhangers.  It makes the story better, but I can't help being frustrated.  (neutral)
  5. A book comes out every two months or so.  You have a new book quickly.   (pro)
As you can see, the bad evens out with the good.  I always look forward to the next book coming out.
Now back to King's Ransom.

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ ONE (rather The Medusa Plot or this book) OF THE VESPER RELATED CAHILL BOOKS STOP READING BECAUSE OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!
This book is about Amy and Dan's attempt to help the hotages that Vesper One is keeping.  They have to find an ancient world map that hasn't been seen since way before they were born.  Not only do the have to find it before the police find them, but they also have the new problem of other Vespers being determined to find the map before them.  They find unexpected allies, some with very complex problems, in unexpected places. 
It was worth reading.  It answered some questions that I didn't even know needed asking and I have to admit that the cliffhanger has me hanging.  You definetly have to read the rest of the series to get this book.  I liked the book, but I wish it was longer.  I read most of it in one car ride (a long car ride, but still).
If you read it tell me what you think about it.
Happy late Boxing Day!

The Shining by Stephen King (Awesome in a weird way)

Hey, guys!  Sorry that I forgot to post on Friday.  I can't keep track of the days of the week during breaks.  Anyway, I finally have a new book to post about: The Shinig.  All I can think to say is wow. The cover:


This is a very famous book.  Most likely one of the most well known Stephen King books. 
The book is about a family (Jack, Wendy, and their son Danny) who move to a hotel so that Jack can be the winter caretaker.  The hotel has many secrets from its past including the previous caretaker, who killed his entire family.  Danny (who has a special gift to see the future) knows that there is something about the hotel that will be very dangerous to his family.  The book is a mix of never-ending parties, a bloody mallet, mysterious hedges, a secret scrapbook, a boiler that creeps, and undead spirits crawling through the hotel.  The question that everyone is wondering is 'Will everything go to pieces in this isolated hotel before the spring comes?'.
For fair warning, this book has very bad language.  It is also might scare some people.  (It has the tendancy.)  Truth be told?  It is not meant for someone below high school, but if you, like me, have an alright filter and don't get insanely freaked out by scary things, you will love it.  I know I did.
I also want to point out that the movie is an almost completely different story than the book.  They didn't even get right who lived and who died.  So if that affects your opinion whether or not to read it, they are completely different, in a good way.
I really liked The Shining.  I wish I could write more in the description, but, like so many other good books, it builds on itself and I don't want to ruin anything.  I will say that half of the best parts occurs in the last 100 pages (out of a little less than 700).  This book will make you cry with despare, rant to someone is frustration, or make your eyes widen with pure shock.  (I know that sounds overly dramatic, but it's true!)  If you read it, you will really enjoy it.
I will be posting a lot soon, so I can cover the books I got for Christmas.
Hope you all had happy holidays!

December 16, 2011

All of the books from school so far (pretty bad)

Hey all!  I decided to review the books that they made me read for school.  There are two of them. 
The first is Touching Spirit Bear which I didn't like.  It was probably because I hated all of the characters and thought they were all the stupidest people ever.  It was also very metaphoric.  The cover:

It was about this troubled kid that got mauled by a bear (he definetly deserved it) and then blamed the world for it.  He bascically gets banished twice from the world.  For, like, half the book he was lying on the ground having flashbacks.  I'm sure that someone would enjoy it, but, personally, I didn't like it.  I was just overally annoyed at all the characters and the plot just wasn't grabbing enough.

The second book was Chinese Cinderella.  It wasn't all that bad, but I wouldn't have read it if it wasn't for school.  Here's the cover:


This book is an autobiography.  It was about a girl whose parents hate her.  She has a lot of family issues growing up and she wrote a book about them.  It was written well and you found yourself hating the right characters and feeling really sorry for the main character, Adeline/ Wu Mei. (That's the same person.  It has something to do with the Chinese Culture.)  It was an alright book overall, but since all the characters had, like, four different names, so I was a bit confused. 

Those are all the books so far.  I will probably post again this week, because school's out!  Hope you all have a great break!

December 9, 2011

No Post this week

Hey, everybody.  Sorry, I can't post this week; everything is too busy.  Look for a post next week on Friday.  Hope you all will have a good weekend.  

December 3, 2011

A World without Heroes (Beyonders) by Brandon Mull (Amazing)

I haven't read anything new since last week, so I decided that I would post on one of my old favorites.  Especially since the holidays are coming up.  You have probably read something from Brandon Mull and not realized it.  The Candy Shop War (which is good, even though the title is cheesy), Fablehaven series, and of course this series The Beyonders.  Here's the cover, it person it is made to look 3D:



Come to think of it, I have no idea who the cover shows.  I can picture three different people...
This is a very light read.  Funny-wise, it is 464 pages.  It has all that is needed for a great story:  a fast paced plot, lovable characters, a lot of comic relief, etc.
On a normal day at the zoo, Jason falls into the hippo tank and gets swallowed.  It transports him to a parallel universe, ruled by a corrupt emporer, Maldor.  He is sent on a journey to put something together to defeat Maldor, forever, when all he wants to do is get home.  Jason finds someone from his world, Rachel, and they set out together.  They meet a couple friends, even more enemys, and some betrayers.  Will they be able to find what they're looking for before Maldor kills them?  Find out by reading it.
 This is an awesome book.  I would really recomend it.  The description doesn't give it justice, because of all of the humor in it.
It's sequel comes of in the beginning of January.  I hope you all have a good weekend.
This is a video about the book.  It gives a little away, but nothing after the first two chapters.

Happy Reading!